Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, has directed the military to stop a charity boat heading toward Gaza. The boat, named Madleen, is operated the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) and carries 12 crew members, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
The British-flagged vessel left Sicily on June 6 and is currently sailing off the coast of Egypt, planning to defy an Israeli blockade and reach Gaza.
“I instructed the IDF to act so that the Madleen … does not reach Gaza,” Katz said.
“To the antisemitic Greta and her Hamas-propaganda-spouting friends, I say clearly: You’d better turn back, because you will not reach Gaza,” he added.
Thunberg joined the mission to protest to challenge Israel’s “illegal siege and escalating war crimes” in Gaza. She has also denied past accusations of antisemitism.
ISRAEL CITES SECURITY REASONS FOR GAZA BLOCKADE
Israel’s conflict with Hamas began in October 2023 after a surprise Hamas attack killed over 1,200 people. According to Israeli reports, Hamas also took 251 hostages back to the enclave. Since then, Israeli forces have been attacking Gaza, where health officials say over 54,000 Palestinians have died.
The infrastructure in the region has been destroyed, and the United Nations has warned that Gaza’s 2.3 million people is facing the risk of famine.
Defence Minister Katz said the naval blockade is critical to stop weapons from reaching Hamas.
“The State of Israel will not allow anyone to break the naval blockade on Gaza, whose primary purpose is to prevent the transfer of weapons to Hamas,” he said.
According to FFC, Madleen is carrying only a small amount of aid, including rice and baby formula. A press officer for the group, said that the yacht was about 160 nautical miles (roughly 296 km) from Gaza. “We are preparing for the possibility of interception,” she added as per news agency Reuters.
Along with Thunberg and others, the crew includes French European Parliament member Rima Hassan.
Israeli media reports claimed that if the boat reaches Israeli waters, the military will escort it to the Israeli port of Ashdod. The crew including activists would then be deported.
With inputs from Reuters